JOYCE VAN JOHN

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Name: 1LT Van John Joyce
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 03/12/1971 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 24.9
Date of Birth: 04/30/1946
Home City: Philadelphia, PA
Service: AR branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: C/1/9 CAV 1 CAV
Major organization: 1st Cavalry Division
Flight class: 68-521/68-37
Service: AR branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 04W-041
Short Summary: During gun run rotor head blown off by .51 cal in Cambodia west of Tay Ninh with CPT Hageman. see memo.
Aircraft: AH-1G tail number 68-15062
Service number: W3163648
Country: Cambodia
MOS: 61204
Primary cause: Hostile Fire
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: vehicular accident
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: pilot
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 02/17/1969
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - pilot
The initial status of this person was: no previous report
Length of service: *
Military grid coordinates of event: WT891658

Additional information about this casualty:
The following is from Ross Rainwater on the crash of an AH-1G on 03/12/71 killing Van John Joyce and Joel Thomas Hageman: During a gun run, rotor head came off. Post crash investigation suggested that the 90 degree gearbox separated, causing abrupt center of gravity shift. We speculated that combination of SCAS and pilot aft cyclic input caused severe mast bumping, resulting in snapped main rotor hub. Due to enemy situation, all investigation was done from UH-1H hovering over crash site. Ross Rainwater, Investigating Officer.

Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - killed
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: Episcopal (Anglican)
Burial information: FT ROSECRANS NATIONAL CEMETERY, SAN DIEGO CA
The following information secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: officer
This record was last updated on 08/17/2000

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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023